The Apple Watch Ultra owners thread (1 Viewer)

[ManW_TheUncool]

The Apple Watch is low cost enough that I recommend to the curious-but-unsure to find a cheap used Watch to use for a year. If you love it, then you can buy full cost at the next release event. And if you don’t like it, it was a low cost gamble and you can recoup some money by reselling it used.

Is it really worth going used when the non-cellular S9 can be had new for $310?

Anyway, I'd still much prefer not to need/rely on mobile data directly on the Watch unless/until there's some true killer app I want that needs that since that comes at/with (indefinite) long term costs.

IF I'm a big fan of jogging/running (or maybe also long distance-ish biking though probably less so), I could definitely see wanting/needing cellular access though just because I might not want to bring my iPhone for such (much like you indicated), but that's not me for foreseeable future.

I figured $310 is an enticing enough entry point to not buy another $180 Fitbit that doesn't do significantly more than my 3-yo one other than renewed battery life (although even my old one still offers 2-plus-day battery life just for its usual health stuff), heh... although I definitely do wish for better than roughly single-day battery life on this, especially when new -- used (unless official Apple refreshed/refurbed) will certainly be worse for battery life methinks and might actually worsen the trial experience too much...

_Man_

 

[DaveF]

Depends on your interest in an Apple Watch. I started with a free hand me down from a friend because I really didn’t know if I wanted one and wasn’t spending $300 to find out.

But if you know you want one, then a $300 S9 seems like a great option.

 

[DaveF]

I think the cellular model is what you want if you’re buying for outdoor exercise. Otherwise normal is cheaper and just as good.

 

[DaveF]

My wife wears her watch all day and sleeps in it. She charges it in the morning while bring ready fire the day.

“All day” worries are overrated.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Welp, looks like I will find out firsthand for myself, heh... just placed my order for a midnight, non-cellular S9 w/ the fabric sport band/loop (plus an inexpensive, 3rd party Milanese stainless steel band similar to what I currently use for my old Fitbit Versa)...

Yeah, I've heard that the fabric sport loop can take a long-ish time to dry if it gets particularly wet, so I might try keeping a 2ndary band w/ me (maybe other than the Milanese one) most times to swap if/whenever it gets too wet (or needs washing) -- I used to also use a (probably lighter weight) fabric band for my Fitbit, but it wasn't bad w/ occasionally getting (a little) wet and drying quickly enough for me.

Maybe I'll get something like this from Spigen (as I do generally like Spigen products for my phones), particularly if I do find the need to frequently replace the Apple fabric band (from getting too wet)...

_Man_

PS: Sorry if all this talk of the non-Ultra Watch is too OT. IF mods wanna spin these posts off into a non-Ultra Watch thread, I perfectly understand...

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hmmm... interesting bit of personal trivial:

I apparently bought my 1st, own, personal (not provided by work) iPhone (7) ~9 years after the initial release of the original iPhone (after having used other smartphones provided by work plus a personal Samsung for several years). Now, I'm buying my 1st Apple Watch apparently also ~9 years after the initial release of the original Watch (after having used the better Fitbits for several years). And in both cases, I'm basically going w/ the entry level model of the model year/series to start out....

Maybe I'll graduate to the Ultra when it's time to upgrade in say 3-plus years and there's some killer app that takes more advantage of it (though there might be an Ultra Max model by then, haha)...

_Man_

 

[Clinton McClure]

My wife wears her watch all day and sleeps in it. She charges it in the morning while bring ready fire the day.

“All day” worries are overrated.

I still get all day battery life on my Series 4. Most nights I have around 15% when I put it on the charger and go to bed.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Welp, looks like I will find out firsthand for myself, heh... just placed my order for a midnight, non-cellular S9 w/ the fabric sport band/loop (plus an inexpensive, 3rd party Milanese stainless steel band similar to what I currently use for my old Fitbit Versa)...

Yeah, I've heard that the fabric sport loop can take a long-ish time to dry if it gets particularly wet, so I might try keeping a 2ndary band w/ me (maybe other than the Milanese one) most times to swap if/whenever it gets too wet (or needs washing) -- I used to also use a (probably lighter weight) fabric band for my Fitbit, but it wasn't bad w/ occasionally getting (a little) wet and drying quickly enough for me.

Maybe I'll get something like this from Spigen (as I do generally like Spigen products for my phones), particularly if I do find the need to frequently replace the Apple fabric band (from getting too wet)...

_Man_

PS: Sorry if all this talk of the non-Ultra Watch is too OT. IF mods wanna spin these posts off into a non-Ultra Watch thread, I perfectly understand...

Man,

Congrats on your purchase. I say this over and over again, but the watch is one of the very best products Apple has ever made and my favorite of all I own.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I still get all day battery life on my Series 4. Most nights I have around 15% when I put it on the charger and go to bed.

I don't merely want/need "all day" battery life though, but at least 23-hour battery life (and preferably longer to be safe... since I wanna sleep w/ it on my wrist for checking my sleep) that doesn't drop below that for at least 3-4 years, if not longer. That usually means it should probably be more like 36-to-48-hour battery life when new to still easily last 23-to-24 hours after 2-3 years, especially if it needs recharging that often, which wears down the battery on every recharge. That's been my experience w/ various iPhones I've had (usually starting w/ 2-day battery life) as well as similar for my last 2 (modestly "smart") Fitbits (though those Fitbits started out w/ 4-to-5-day battery life and gradually dropped down to 2-plus days after ~3 years)... and similarly w/ many other devices w/ rechargeable batteries.

With this, I'll probably try recharging either right after I wake up in the morning or maybe sometime midday perhaps, but ideally, it should really last 2-plus 24-hour days when new similar to my last 3 iPhones...

_Man_

 

[dpippel]

If you're looking for > 24 hours of battery life, the Ultra is your ticket. I still get 2 days out of a charge, even after a year and a half of use.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

If you're looking for > 24 hours of battery life, the Ultra is your ticket. I still get 2 days out of a charge, even after a year and a half of use.

Same here. The Ultra is a fantastic watch.

The new Series 10 coming this fall should have that kind of battery life as it's going to be revamped with a larger screen.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Definitely not ready to splurge that much for the Ultra 2 just to get that bump in battery life -- even a refurbed/renewed model costs ~2x as much as the 45mm S9 (on sale).

The new Series 10 coming this fall should have that kind of battery life as it's going to be revamped with a larger screen.

Huh... maybe I should just wait for the S10 then? When is that expected? I do still have my old Fitbit Versa 3 that should serve me fine for another good while... though it would be nice to upgrade by Oct-ish for foliage season...

FWIW, I'm probably also upgrading to iPhone 16 Pro (or maybe Pro Max) around then (and probably giving my 13 Pro for to my 17-yo after replacing its battery)... although I will probably hate losing iTunes app at that point...

_Man_

 

[DaveF]

Definitely not ready to splurge that much for the Ultra 2 just to get that bump in battery life -- even a refurbed/renewed model costs ~2x as much as the 45mm S9 (on sale).



Huh... maybe I should just wait for the S10 then?

When is that expected? I do still have my old Fitbit Versa 3 that should serve me fine for another good while... though it would be nice to upgrade by Oct-ish for foliage season...

FWIW, I'm probably also upgrading to iPhone 16 Pro (or maybe Pro Max) around then (and probably giving my 13 Pro for to my 17-yo after replacing its battery)... although I will probably hate losing iTunes app at that point...

_Man_

We had this conversation already, like four days ago.

Rumors of a new watch this year with Ultra size, and presumably similar battery but lower cost. You can wait for that at risk of missing out on current sale pricing.

But then also: You’re not getting 24-48 hrs battery life on a regular Apple Watch. But that’s ok, because you don’t need It. Just charge in the morning and/or in the evening as part of a regular routine.

My wife wears her watch all day and sleeps in it. She charges it in the morning while bring ready fire the day.

“All day” worries are overrated.

 

[dpippel]

But then also: You’re not getting 24-48 hrs battery life on a regular Apple Watch. But that’s ok, because you don’t need It. Just charge in the morning and/or in the evening as part of a regular routine.

You may not need it, but until I got my Ultra I didn't realize just how nice it was to have it. 50% less charging was a huge added benefit for me.

 

[DaveF]

You may not need it, but until I got my Ultra I didn't realize just how nice it was to have it. 50% less charging was a huge added benefit for me.

No argument. But Man doesn’t want to spend ultra money . But he will be ok with a new regular Watch with a little attention to charging routine.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I can probably get by w/ the essentially 1-day battery life at least at first when it's new. I'm more concerned about how long that'll actually stay 1-day before forcing me to adjust/change my recharging routine further (or ponying up for battery replacement or another upgrade) -- currently, I have no real issue w/ the 2-plus-day I still get on my 3-yo Fitbit Versa 3. (that used to be ~5-day).

I suppose if I grow to love the Watch enough, especially if it very often allows me to keep my iPhone (unused) out of my hands instead, I suppose I would consider ponying up for the Ultra... At the moment, I'm not really expecting it to reduce my iPhone need/usage all that much, but I could certainly be wrong about that...

_Man_

 

[Nelson Au]

Man, I think it makes sense to get the Apple Watch series 9 as your first watch to try it out and see how it works for you. You can upgrade later If you really like how it's working for you.

I use my watch for work outs too when I go cycling outside and inside on my stationary trainer. My Apple Watches have all he cellular capable but I never used it. I always have my iPhone with me, so it’s got music on it that I ripped from my CD collection. I don’t use Apple Music.

it’s nice to see the stock I like to track as one of the complications on the watch face. I also like to see the weather complication to see what the temperature is like outside. And the date of course. And I also like to see the three activity rings. I use the timers often when I’m cooking and the alarms as well.

I don’t think I’m a power user, but I find the watch super useful.

And it wasn‘t what you asked Man, but I do really like the health aspects of the watch too.

 

[Clinton McClure]

When I tried wearing my S4 for sleep tracking a few years ago, I discovered two things.

1: The best time to charge my watch was in the mornings as I was getting ready for work.

2: I already knew I was waking up several times a night because of wife or dogs making noise so it was no surprise to see it in my sleep reports. My average sleep time is just shy of 5 hours a night anyway. Didn’t need my watch to tell me that.

 

[Nelson Au]

I recently started using my watch to monitor my sleep. It surprised me how it can tell when I am in REM sleep and core sleep. It’s got to be guesstimating. I was curious to try it. It was actually good to see how much sleep I am getting.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

No idea how good Apple's sleep tracking is, but Fitbit's seems pretty good (and useful enough to me) even if probably not completely accurate.

It's not just how much total sleep you get, but the quality of sleep, which factors in how normal/ideal your sleep cycles are, how much your sleep gets interrupted (by waking mid-sleep... sometimes even if you don't really remember/realize, etc)...

Yes, we don't always remember/realize when we've briefly waken mid-sleep... as well as potential issues like sleep apnea interrupting our sleep...

It's all fairly interesting stuff one gets introduced in any decent (Intro) Psych 101 college course, heh -- that was definitely an interesting, fun (and one of the most popular) course at my alma mater (and probably still is over 3 decades later)... w/ some basic stuff I learned I still use quite often/regularly nowadays, which can't really be said about that many college courses I took back then...

_Man_